The instruments to be provided through this project, Nikon Alphaphot-KT microscopes with phase contrast optics, will permit great flexibility in illumination techniques and usable magnification powers. Phase microscopy increases contrast in materials with little natural contrast and is useful in showing cytoplasmic organelles in living or fresh- unstained tissues. These microscopes also offer darkfield illumination, a technique especially valuable in the study of single-celled organisms. Polarized light microscopy will permit analysis of the stratification of cell walls and the location of crystals present in tissues. Further, the increased clarity, brightness, and resolution of these microscopes will enhance ordinary brightfield microscopy in the instruction of plant morphology. This improvement in optical microscopy, through the updating of scientific instrumentation, is expected to have an immediate impact on the development of structural botany classes at the University of Richmond, and to provide long-term curricular enhancement that will enable students to be better prepared to enter graduate or professional schools. This project addresses a subspecialty of biology that has suffered from neglect in undergraduate education.
